Regional university graduates leave for Seoul to find opportunities

A Gyeongsang-based university's campus is pictured on March 2, after the school's spring semester started. The picture shows only one student walking up the stairs. [YONHAP]

Despite government policies trying to attract more students to non-Seoul regions, university students in those areas are quick to leave after graduation due to a lack of infrastructure.

In 2020, only 23.5 percent of graduates from Gangwon-based universities got jobs in the region and stayed, according to the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI).

However, 84.5 percent of university graduates in greater Seoul got jobs and stayed in the region.

Gangwon is one of many regions students hurried to leave.

In Daejeon, Seojong and Chungcheong regions, 34.7 percent of university graduates stayed and got jobs there. The figure was 44.9 percent for those who finished college in Daegu and North Gyeongsang and 53.1 percent for those in Gwangju and Jeolla regions.

Jeju Island-based universities saw 56.4 percent of their graduates stay and get jobs in the region. The schools in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang saw 59.5 percent of their graduates doing so.

Some aren't even waiting until graduation to leave, choosing to transfer to another university or even drop out to give a second shot at universities in Seoul.

Universities outside of greater Seoul had a 3.7 percent drop-out rate in 2022, according to Higher Education in Korea, a statistics service run by the Korean Council for University Education.

The figure only considers those who voluntarily dropped out, excluding those who had to due to being on academic probation or being expelled.

Universities in greater Seoul had a 2.85 percent drop-out rate during the same period.

"I decided that I needed to go to a university in Seoul even if it is considered less prestigious than [my former school]," a 22-year-old surnamed Cha said.

Cha used to go to a national university in South Gyeongsang but now goes to a private university in Seoul.

"I want to work in the media industry, and it's hard to get jobs if you're in the non-Seoul area," Cha added.

"I used to spend so much money on transportation to go to Seoul for internship interviews, but now, I can go to classes in the morning and attend interviews in the afternoon."

Difference in infrastructure is also another factor.

"Universities in the non-Seoul region don't have proper labs and lack infrastructure," a 23-year-old student surnamed Kim, who used to go to a private university in South Chungcheong but now attends a private university in Seoul, said. "If you go to universities in Seoul, you even have graduate school students mentoring you, and that gives you an upper hand when applying to graduate school."

Annual expenditure per student — which refers to money spent on students' education such as scholarships and school facilities — of Seoul-based universities was 22.13 million won ($16.650) in 2022, according to Higher Education in Korea.

It was 17.57 million won for students at Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang-based universities.

"If you ask students why they left for universities in Seoul, they say they left to find more opportunities," Kim Seog-soo, a professor at Pusan National University's Graduate School of International Studies, said in a forum hosted by KEDI in August.

"We need to offer them higher quality education, opportunity to find more jobs, conditions that make them want to reside and opportunity to enjoy more leisure activities," Kim added.

With the universities' location playing a big role, experts note the importance of making non-Seoul regions more attractive for young people.

A survey of 1,120 people conducted by KEDI in February asked what hinders the competitiveness of Korean higher education the most, and 22.8 percent named the disparity between regions as the No. 1 factor.

"The research shows that even if universities try their best to attract more students, where they are located is what plays a role in students' preference," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said. "Universities and local governments need to work together in order to thrive."

Bae Sang-hoon, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University's Graduate School of Education, says Malmö, a city in Sweden, can be a good example to follow for Korea.

Malmö was known as a city focused on shipbuilding but suffered from high unemployment rates and declining population when its biggest Kockums shipyard shut down in 1987.

With the city investing in creating startup hubs such as the Media Evolution City and Malmö University offering support to student entrepreneurs, it has quickly cultivated an attractive startup environment.

"Universities and local governments are all in the same boat, and universities can actually be considered the last resort that can prevent young people from leaving those non-Seoul regions," Bae said. "Just like Malmö in Sweden became a tech and startup-heavy city due to Malmö University, local governments need to support university-led innovation, help foster talent and attract companies to the area."

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]